Black Swan (2010)

Black Swan Synopsis

A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionary director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler), Black Swan takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect.

Black Swan follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter‚s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

The world's greatest filmmakers tell their stories from the very first frame in their movies to the very last. Need proof? Just watch the amazing supercut below, and you'll notice just how many brilliant films have beginnings and endings that work in stunning tandem.

Whether it's a spontaneous bit of dancing or a more choreographed number, movie history is full of great dance moments. And as it happens, the internet is full of supercuts, but the above video and the sequel that followed rises above some of the rest, thanks in large part to great editing, as it looks like the creator really took the time to fit the dance clips together so they line up with the song.

The tradeoff is supposed to be that the intern learns valuable on-the-job training, in lieu of a paycheck. However, Judge William H. Pauley III found the responsibilities assigned to the aforementioned interns Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman were similar enough to their paid counterparts that they should have been considered regular employees.

DeSoto’s copies were review screeners that were loaned by studios to SAG members through the iTunes store. Following a tip obtained by the Motion Picture Association of America’s piracy officers, FBI agents stormed DeSoto’s apartment and connected him to leaked copies of awards contenders such as The Fighter, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours and Rabbit Hole.

The MTV Movie Awards are like a televised drinking game for celebrities. It doesn’t even matter who wins or looses. No one remembers who won a beer pong game from five years ago, just like no one remembers who took home that popcorn statue. The whole point is for movie stars is to show up, have a few laughs with their friends and then call it a night

Fox Searchlight has to be pleasantly surprised at the numbers this dark Oscar winner set in the world of competitive ballet has posted. Aronofsky’s $12-million Black Swan just pirouetted past the $305 million mark thanks to a strong opening over the weekend in Japan

thinking back even further, Ryder is the O.G. girl with possible delusions, an actress who's always done her best work occupying the fringes of rational human behavior. Let's take a look at the highlights: Best of Crazy Ryder

One of the biggest stories from this past weekend surrounded the amount of dancing Oscar winner Natalie Portman actually did in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Speaking to the press, Sarah Lane, who served as Portman's body double on the film, said that the actress only performed only about five percent of what actually ended up in the movie...

Sarah Lane would have every right to be pissed off if Portman and company were claiming no body double was used, but the reality has been the exact opposite. I can’t tell you how many interviews I’ve read in which the new Academy Award winner has admitted she couldn’t master the most difficult moves and needed Sarah Lane to make those work

There’s a formula you can follow to work your way in contention for the top prize at the Academy Awards. Heavy drama plus a few well placed laughs and two or three scenes that leave the audience choked with tears and you’ll have no problem landing among the elite ten being scrutinized for the Oscar’s best picture. But what if you’re a brilliant film that blurs the line between thriller and horror...

Last year, as we here at Cinema Blend celebrated the end of the decade, I wrote an article titled “Film's 10 Best Music Moments In The Aughts.” The goal was simple: look at the all of the movies from the past ten

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While it came out on top at the box office this weekend, the third entry in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise didn't have much reason to celebrate it's number one position. With only $24 million banked during its opening weekend, it suffered an embarrassing debut.

Today we learned that Black Swan will get a full on wide release on December 22nd, but since it’s one of the most talked about movies in the year, you probably don’t want to wait that long. It’s already in limited

Usually we would say this wasn’t a smart move based on the high-level competition hitting that weekend--True Grit hits the same day, and Tron will be entering its second weekend--but the vacation week for students and families

The guy is as laid-back and funny as his films are intense and difficult, and that picking his brain over his own film kind of feels like discussing a movie you loved with a friend-- even during a grueling press tour

A lot of the credit for how good it is has to go to Natalie Portman, who doesn’t just give a great acting performance, but somehow pulls off a stunningly beautiful dance performance as well. We have eight clips from

Not too much on the docket this week except for your everyday martial arts hero living in a small western town and a thriller about ballet dancers. Remember, I'm not actually reviewing these flicks, just predicting

The psychological thriller genre is right up Aronofsky’s alley and with Black Swan he seems to have taken said genre and sprinkled in heaping spoonfuls of “WTF” and stirred vigorously until his concoction exploded

I saw Black Swan over a month ago at the Toronto International Film Festival, and I'm still grappling with some of that film's stunning imagery, not to mention dying to see it again. While it's a long wait for

Aronofsky brings all of his obsessions here, from the intersection of the physical body and art to parental relationships with the power to destroy. He's also made a damn effective horror movie, and wrung a career-best performance from Natalie Portman

The costumes and makeup are absolutely fantastic. Even when Natalie Portman isn’t all dolled up for the stage, there’s something inherently dark in the normalcy allowing them to make just as much of an impression.

There's something very important in Script Shadow's review of Darren Aronofsky's next project, Black Swan-- something that will ratchet up your interest level to "I'll see it if it's any good" to "in line opening day."

Mila Kunis is becoming Natalie Portman’s arch nemesis. She’s been cast in the Darren Aronfsky movie Black Swan in which Portman stars as a talented ballerina tormented by a rival who may, or may not, be a figment of her imagination

Between the two gestating Darren Aronofsky projects, Robocop and Black Swan, the latter is by far the one with the most traction. Natalie Portman signed on for the lead role a month ago, and now THR's Risky Business is reporting that Fox Searchlight is coming very close to distributing it

I loved The Wrestler, we all loved The Wrestler, but I’m also looking forward to seeing Darren Aronofsky return to his roots. For him, returning to his roots means returning to the world of visually stunning, optically experimental filmmaking